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Citing "very intense" global competition, BP Solar this week called an end to its $97 million expansion in Frederick, which was expected to create 70 jobs.

BP Solar is midway through completing the $30 million manufacturing building and plans to finish construction, using the building as office space to consolidate two other leased offices in Frederick County, spokesman Tom Mueller said.

The company will not purchase $67 million in manufacturing equipment that would have allowed BP to expand production capacity, Mueller said.

Instead, the 140,000-square-foot building on Solarex Court will be used to house 50 employees from the company's location on Spectrum Drive and fewer than 10 employees working at the English Muffin Way office.

BP canceled the expansion because of an increasingly competitive market among solar panel manufacturers, Mueller said.

"We anticipate continuing on with manufacturing there; we're just not going to finish up the expansion project," Mueller said. "We're trying to position the plant to be competitive in the future and the competition globally has become very intense in the last few years. It just doesn't make sense to go forward with this expansion."

BP Solar initially announced the expansion as a $70 million investment that would create the largest solar plant in the nation. That investment was increased to $97 million in July 2007, when the project broke ground. The building was slated to be completed by the end of this year and Mueller said that work is still on track for that timeline.

Laurie Boyer, director of the Frederick County Office of Economic Development, said the county was "certainly disappointed that they're not going to build the production facility."

"But we're still getting the $30 million investment that they are doing and we're not losing any jobs," Boyer said. "It gives them the opportunity — if the market shifts — that they've got that space. We're hoping new jobs will be in the future."

With 511 employees, BP Solar, part of British energy giant BP, is among the top 20 employers in Frederick County, according to the Frederick County Office of Economic Development. The company opened 21 years ago with 40 employees.